And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’Luke 12:15 NRSV
I opened the box with excitement! We’d been living in our new home for weeks with only a portion of our household goods. The remainder of them had arrived, and I was eager to unpack the many things I’d been waiting for.
As I unpacked, I realized something strange had happened to my possessions during the move. Items that seemed precious when I packed them didn’t look so special now that I’d done without them for weeks. They looked like “stuff” I had to deal with and didn’t have a place for in my new home.
The unpacking continued. The piles of stuff grew. I realized that I owned many more things than I needed. Each unneeded item represented resources taken from God’s creation. I wondered who else (human or creatures) could have used those resources, and what else could I have done with the money I’d used to buy the items?
Prayer: Creator God, source of all we have, forgive us for the times our wants drive us to acquire more than we need. Free us from attachment to material goods, so that we may share with others and care for all life within Creation. Amen.
Deaconess Katrina Martich, Spokane, WA
